Key Real Estate Market Highlights from Feb 7-14, 23
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest CPI report, showing a slight decline
- CPI rose 6.4% in January, down from 6.5% in December
- On a monthly consensus, that’s 0.5%, up tom 0.1% in December
- The market indicators continue to oscillate, this week trending up
- 166 out of 186 major metropolitan areas reported gains in single-family existing home sale prices in the fourth quarter, according to the NAR quarterly report, released late last week
- Median single-family dwellings increased in price by 4%, year over year, which is a deceleration from the previous quarter’s 8.6%
- That means that around 90% of US cities have reported growth, albeit at a slowing pace
Real Estate Market Highlights: A Closer Look
The US dollar is particularly sensitive to inflation since it’s the most important macroeconomic metric for the Federal Reserve. However, the biggest factors affecting the state of our economy continue to be CPI, the Fed’s efforts to combat it, and the unyielding resilience of our labor market. Economists predicted that interest rates would respond to the CPI data that came in earlier today. If inflation was higher than estimated (and it was), then rates would hike (and they did). However, since CPI still declined from the previous month, the hike was slight. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is up four basis points, settling at 6.54%. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate is up 13 basis points to 5.75%.
What This Means for Homebuyers, Sellers & Real Estate Professionals
Since 2019, consumer inflation has risen 14%. Wages have kept pace with 15% growth. However, home prices eclipsed both, with growth well into the double digits in most US markets. What’s more, the year over year payment on a median single-family home with 20% equity is up 58%. This means that fewer and fewer people are able to enter the real estate market. And while that trend is slowing its rate of growth, it’s still very much prevalent.
“A slowdown in home prices is underway and welcomed, particularly as the typical home price has risen 42% in the past three years.” — Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist
If you’re a real estate agent and haven’t read it yet, check out our article on Growing Through a Real Estate Downturn. You will need to update your strategies and stand out from the pack if you are going to thrive in today’s market. And this article runs through the top ways to get there.
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